Tonight's Dinner: Red Wine and Apricot Braised Short Ribs

Jennifer is a stay-at-home mom with a passion for writing, vintage clothes, old movies and cooking, especially dinners and desserts. Jennifer loves writing so much that whenever she has a spare moment, she spends it writing fiction or ad...

Red Wine and Fruit give Short Ribs a sweet kick

Short ribs are one of those delicious meats that is perfect for the slow cooker. It may take a few hours to prepare, but the end result is always one of pure satisfaction. It doesn't matter if the sauce is sweet or salty, short ribs are the perfect answer to a cold, blustery day.

When it's cold and snowy outside or it's been raining non-stop for a few days, the only thing that will warm up those empty stomachs is a nice piece of slow roasted meat. These are the days when all you want to do is curl up by the fire with a good book. And nothing goes better with a roaring fire and a good book that slow braised short ribs. The hours it takes to cook will fill your kitchen with a dreamy scent you'd never be able to find in a Glade plugin, and the flavorful marinade infuses the meat with a heartiness that's so rich and warm it's like a blanket for your tummy. So the next time it's chilly and the last thing you want to do is venture out in the rain or sleet, pull out your dutch oven and braise some short ribs. Your kitchen and your stomach will thank you.

Red Wine and Apricot Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds short ribs

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 bottle dry red wine (such as a cabernet or syrah)

3 Tbsp Dijon mustard

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups dried apricots

Directions

Place the flour, salt and pepper in a ziplock bag. Add the short ribs in batches of 3 or 4 at a time. Seal the bag and shake, so the ribs are covered in flour, salt and pepper. Remove ribs from bag and place in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the ribs, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the ribs to a plate and set aside.

Whisk together the wine and mustard in a small bowl and set aside.

Add garlic to pot and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in wine mixture, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the apricots and ribs, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, cover pot and simmer until the meat falls off the bone, about 3 hours. Serve meat and apricots with sauce.